Scottish and Irish

Irish Red Ale

BJCP 15A

Moderate in everything: light caramel malt, a hint of roast for dryness, and a finish that stops rather than lingers. Easy to drink and surprisingly hard to make interesting.

Vital statistics

Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles

Original gravity

1.036 - 1.046

Final gravity

1.010 - 1.014

Bitterness

18 IBU - 28 IBU

Colour

9 SRM - 14 SRM

Alcohol

3.8% - 5%

Colour also 18-28 EBC

What goes wrong

Skipping the small roasted barley addition. It is what makes the finish dry and the colour red rather than brown.

Commercial examples

Franciscan Well Rebel RedKilkenny Irish BeerO'Hara's Irish Red AleMurphy's Irish RedSmithwick's Irish Ale

Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.

Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.

The rest of the scottish and irish family

14A

Scottish Light

2.5-3.2% · 10-20 IBU

14B

Scottish Heavy

3.2-3.9% · 10-20 IBU

14C

Scottish Export

3.9-6% · 15-30 IBU

17C

Wee Heavy

6.5-10% · 17-35 IBU

Plan a batch to these numbers.

Bitterness Colour Alcohol